BlackBerry revenue slumps; company outsources hardware

BlackBerry Ltd posted a 31.8 percent fall in second-quarter revenue and it said it would end all internal hardware development, including its well known smartphones.Reuters | Updated: September 28, 2016, 17:52 IST

TORONTO: BlackBerry Ltd will outsource manufacturing of its once-core hardware, including its flagship smartphone, the Canadian company said on Wednesday as it reported another loss and sharp drop in revenue.

The company also said Chief Financial Officer James Yersh would leave effective Oct. 1 for personal reasons. It announced former Sybase executive Steven Capelli as his successor.

Shares of Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry moved higher following the news.

The net loss came to $372 million, or 71 cents a share, on revenue of $334 million, as the company booked $147 million in charges from its reorganization.

A year ago, it reported a profit of $51 million, or 24 cents a share, on revenue of $490 million.

Excluding one-time items, the company said it said broke even. On that basis, analysts had on average expected an adjusted loss of 5 cents a share on revenue of $393.75 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company raised its adjusted earnings outlook for the year to a range of breakeven to a 5-cent loss, compared with an earlier forecast of a 15 cent loss, after refinancing its debt and as margins improved.

Separately, RCom initiated contempt proceedings in the apex court against the Department of Telecommunications, blaming it for delaying a spectrum sale that would have enabled dues to be paid to Ericsson and lenders.